Religious Policy Of Jahangir

   Religious Policy of Emperor Jahangir

Emperor Jahangir’s public policy was liberal.He did not seek to revive the jizya or the pilgrim tax and the Hindus still occupied high office and enjoyed freedom to erect new temples .Consequently in Mathura,Gokul and Brindaban many new temples were build during his reign.The Christians were also permitted to built and maintain places of worship for themselves.

However some of his actions smack of discrimination and harshness. He suspected Jains of having sided with Khusrau and on that ground banished them from empire. On the same charge he imposed a fine of 2 lacs rupees on Guru Arjun and when he refused to pay the fine ,put him to death on charge of treason.But it cannot be maintained that he persecuted the other religious groups on regular basis.His actions affected only an individual or a particular locality and each instance of alleged religious persecution had some non-religious motive at the base.It is therefore difficult to say that he had adopted a policy of religious intolerance or persecution.